Maritime Industry Briefing: Container Manufacturer Probe Expands, Windcat Secures Ørsted CTV Contracts

## South Korea Joins Global Antitrust Crackdown on Container Manufacturers Regulatory scrutiny of the world's largest container manufacturers is intensifying, with South Korea becoming the latest jurisdiction to open a formal investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices. According to Splash247, the Korea Fair Trade Commission has launched an antitrust probe targeting four of the industry's dominant container-making firms, mirroring ongoing criminal and civil proceedings already underway in the United States. The US investigations centre on allegations of price-fixing during the pandemic period, when container shortages drove shipping costs to historic highs and disrupted global supply chains. The expansion of proceedings to South Korea — itself a major hub for shipping and logistics — signals that regulators across key maritime economies are coordinating efforts to examine whether manufacturers colluded to inflate prices during a period of acute market stress. The outcome of these investigations could have significant implications for the container leasing and shipping industries, potentially reshaping procurement practices and pricing structures across the global box supply chain. --- ## Windcat Secures Long-Term CTV Contracts with Ørsted In the offshore wind sector, Windcat — part of the Saverys family-controlled CMB.TECH group — has announced the signing of long-term contracts to provide crew transfer vessel (CTV) services to Danish energy major Ørsted, Splash247 reports. The contracts will see Windcat vessels operating out of Grimsby to support Ørsted's Generation UK Hub, which oversees the operation and maintenance of six offshore wind farms in the region. Grimsby has established itself as a key operational base for the UK's North Sea offshore wind industry, and the agreement underscores the growing demand for reliable, long-term marine support services as the sector matures. The deal reinforces CMB.TECH's strategic positioning in the offshore energy transition space. Windcat is one of Europe's leading CTV operators, and securing a long-term partnership with a tier-one developer such as Ørsted provides both revenue visibility and operational scale. The contract also reflects a broader industry trend toward longer-term service agreements as wind farm operators seek to stabilise their operations and maintenance supply chains. --- *Sources: Splash247. Non-maritime items from wire services have been excluded from this briefing.*